Illuminated stove



Jan. 8, 1957 D. P. O'KEEFE ILLUMINATED STOVE Filed March 8, 1950 INVENTOR. ,Darue/ O'Aeerg.

nited States Patent ILLUMINATED STOVE Daniel P. OKeefe, Los Angeles, Calif. Application March 8, 1950, Serial No. 148,409 1 Claim. (Cl. 240-2) This invention is concerned with an illuminated stove, it being a general object of the invention to provide a simple, practical, improved stove provided with a folding cover and with illuminating means whereby the top of the stove is elfectively illuminated when the cover is positioned either to serve as a shelf or to be folded completely out of service.

The present invention is applicable generally to stoves or the like. However, it is particularly practical as applied to domestic cook stoves and therefore will be referred to and illustrated in this connection.

Domestic cook stoves are generally characterized by a box-shaped body with a guard projecting upwardly at the rear thereof and it has been common to provide such stoves with illuminating means, usually a lamp carried by the guard, and with a folding top which is sectional and such that it can be arranged down to cover the top of the stove, up where one section forms a shelf at the upper rear portion of the structure, or folded where the sections are together and adjacent the guard. With constructions heretofore provided the illuminating means on the guard has been eifective; to illuminate the top of the cover when the cover is down, and to illuminate the top of the stove when the cover is folded, but is rendered practically useless or ineffective to illuminate the top of the stove when the cover is up, as the front section of the cover when in that position has served to effectively shield the light from the top of the stove.

The present invention provides a structure wherein the box-like stove body has a guard projecting upwardly at the rear thereof, and illuminating means is carried at the upper portion of the guard, preferably at the center thereof. In the preferred construction the illuminating means involves a lamp or lamps, the center of which is somewhat forward of the front of the guard and is immediately above the upper edge of the rear section of the cover when that section is in the up position. The lamp is carried by a socket mounted on or supported by the guard and a suitable hood engages partially over or around the lamp to shield it, the hood being such as to check the passage of light upward and directly forward from the lamp. The sectional cover involves two like, plain, rigid, substantially rectangular sections hinged together and having the rear section hinged to the body of the stove at the portion thereof where the body joins the guard. The cover is such that when down the sections are in a common plane and suitably cover the top of the stove body. When the sections are in an up position the rear section is vertical and against the front of the guard and beneath the lamp, while the front section projects horizontally forward from the upper edge of the rear section. A suitable supporting means is provided to releasably maintain the cover in the up position just referred to. In a folded position the rear section of the cover is against the front of the guard and the front section is vertical and against the rear section.

The present invention provides an opening in the cover when it is in the up position which is such, and

2,777,050 Ce Patented Jan. 8, 1957 which is so related to the lamp, that light from the lamp passes through the cover, preferably between the sections thereof, to fall upon and to illuminate the top of the stove body. In a preferred form the cover sections have flat top panels and depending marginal or edge flanges and the desired light opening passing light when the cover is up isprovided between the flanges. In the case illustrated flanges of both sections are recessed to provide an opening of substantial size at or opposite the lamp when the cover is up and such recesses are confined to the flanges so that no openings or interruptions or unsightly features are visible when the cover is down. The lamp and cover are so proportioned and related that when the cover is up there is suitable clearance between the cover and the elements or features of the lamp, and light from the lamp shines directly onto the top of the stove body and is also directed onto the top of the stove body by reflection, with the result that desirable diffused illumination is gained for the top of the stove.

A general object of this invention is to provide a stove structure of the general character referred to in which illuminating means is carried by the guard of the stove and may be of simple, inexpensive form and construction, in fact, of conventional form, while the sectional hinged cover may operate and serve in the manner common to this type of structure while at the same time effectively passing a substantial amount of light from the illuminating means to the top of the stove when the cover is up so that the front section thereof serves as a shelf.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure of the general character referred to which does not require any substantial variation in the general construction, arrangement and relationship of parts common to stove construction, except as to the features which result in passage of light from the illuminating means to the top of the stove when the cover is up so that the front section thereof serves as a shelf.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure of the general character referred to which does not require any substantial variation in the general construction, arrangement and relationship of parts common to stove construction, except as to the features which result in passage of light from the illuminating means to the top of the stove with the front section forming a shelf.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hinged sectional stove cover with a recess formed or provided therein to pass light when the cover is up with the front section forming a shelf, which recess is so located and proportioned as to be concealed from view when the cover is down.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a stove cover of the general character referred to in which both sections of the cover have marginal flanges and recesses are provided in the flanges where the sections are hinged together so that the combined recesses form a large and effective light opening when the cover is up with the front section thereof horizontally disposed to form a shelf.

The various objects and features of my invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a typical preferred form and application of the invention, throughout which description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a typical stove embodying the present invention showing the folding sectional cover thereof in the down position where it covers the top of the body. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation of a portion of the stove showing the cover in the up position where the front section of the cover is horizontal and forms a shelf. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 2 and taken through or at the illuminating means to illustrate the manner in which light from the illuminating means carried bythe guard of the stove passes through the cover to illuminate the top of the stove body. Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of the structure showing the relationship of the light opening in the cover to the illuminating means carried by the guard, being a view taken as indicated by line 4*4 on Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of a portion of the structure taken as indicated by line 5-5 on Fig. 1, showing the manner in which the recesses provided in the cover sections to form the light opening are concealed from view when the cover is down.

The stove illustrated in the drawings being a typical domestic cook stove has a box-like body A with a guard portion B projecting upwardly at the rear thereof. The body A of the stove is shown as having a front 10, sides 11-, a back 12 and a top 13. The front is occupied largely by closures for the usual stove compartments and by a panel carrying suitable controls. The top 13 is shown flat and horizontally disposed and is provided with or largely occupied by various cooking elements or burners 14.

The guard B which is, in effect, an extension or continuation of the body A is rigid with the body and projects upwardly therefrom at the rear of the top. In practice stove guards vary widely in size, shape, form, construction and design, and they are commonly utilized to carry various instruments, accessories or ornaments. The present invention contemplates that the guard B may be of any form, shape, type or design and may be provided or equipped with various features or attachments such as are found in this type of construction. The particular guard B illustrated in the drawings, for purpose of example, involves a main or base portion 20, and a reduced head portion 21 located on or projecting above the base portion.

The base portion of the guard is a shallow rearwardly opening box-like structure with a vertical front panel 22, a top rearwardly projecting flange 23 and side vertical flanges 24. The front panel 22 is shown as a flat smooth plain element and the flanges 23. and 24 are shown as integral extensions or continuations of the panel 22.

The head 21 of the guard B is shown on or extending upward from the top of the main portion 20 of the guard and it is a box-like structure somewhat smaller than the section 20, in that it is not as long as section 20 and is not quite as deep as section 20. The head 21 has a front face or panel 25 which is vertically disposed and located somewhat rearward of the panel 22 of the portion 20. A top flange 26 projects rearwardly from panel, 25 and end flanges 27 are vertically disposed and project rearwardly from panel 25.

The present invention provides the stove with a cover C and in its preferred form the cover is a sectionalstructure involving front and rear sections 30 and 31, respectively, joined by a hinge means 32. A hinge means 33 connects the cover section 31 to the stove at or close to the point where the guard is joined to the body A. The means 33 is shown carried by the guard adjacent the body so the cover is, in effect, joined to the upper rear corner of the body.

In the case illustrated the cover sections 30 and 31 are like plain rigid elementsof about equal size and rectangular in plan configuration. The rear edge of the front section 30 is joined to the front edge of the rear section 31 by the hinge means 32 and the sections are shaped and proportioned so that whenthe cover is down and the two sections are in a common horizontal plane, as shown in Fig. 1, the cover occupies the top 13 of the stove body A. The hinge means 33 so supports the cover above re-.

ferred to that it can be operated to an up position where the rear section 31 is up or substantially vertical and adjacent or against the front of the main portion 20 of the guard B, while the front section. is horizontally dis posed and spaced a substantial distance above the top 13 of the stove, in which position it is effective as a shelf. The cover is operable to a folded position where the rear section is up and adjacent the guard while the front section is folded down and against the rear section and is likewise substantially vcrtical. In the preferred arrangement and proportioning of parts the guard B is so related to the cover that when the cover is up, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the edge portion of the rear cover section to which the front section is hinged is about flush or at the same height as the top 23 of the section 20 of the guard. In the case illustrated this edge of the rear cover section is slightly above the top of the guard section 20 when in the up position.

In practice the formation or construction of the cover sections may vary widely. However, it is preferred, and has been found advantageous, to make the cover sections alike and so that each cover section has a plain flat panel portion 40 and depending edge or marginal flanges on the panel portion. In the case illustrated the panel 40 of each cover section has longitudinal or side flanges 41 depending therefrom and has end flanges 42. The flanges 41 and 42 may be of limited vertical extent so that the cover sections are, in effect, shallow downwardly opening shell-like elements when the cover is down, as shown in Fig. l.

The hinge means 32 connecting the sections 30 and 31 may include hinges suitably spaced along the cover and in the preferred construction the flanges 45 of the hinges of means 32 are fixed or attached to the side flanges of the cover sections where the cover sections are connected by the means 32. The hinges are such that the pivot pins 46 thereof are on an axis close to the outer ends or edges of the side flanges that are joined by the hinge means. With this construction the side flanges 41 at the edges of the cover sections that adjoin when the cover is down may abut, or closely approach each other, as shown in Fig. 5, when the cover is down as shown in Fig. 1, and are well apart and at about to each other when the cover is up and the front section is horizontally disposed as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The hinge means 33 involves one or more suitable hinges connecting the rear edge portion of the cover section 31 to the rigid structure of the stove so that the cover can be operated between the various positions above described. In the particular case illustrated the hinges of means 33 connect the rear section 31 at the front of the guard portion 20 at a point immediately, above the top 13 of the body A.

In practice a suitable support means D is provided to releasably retain the cover in the up position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. So far as the present invention is concerned. the means D may vary widely in form, construction and action, it being merely essential that this means serve to releasably support the cover elements in the general position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In the particular case illustrated the means D is shown as involving props 50 which act between the body of the stove and the front section 30 of the cover. There is a prop 50 at each end of the stove and the props are pivoted to the body A at 51 and have upper ends which connect with or engage the forward edge portion of the section 30, preferably at the under side thereof. The particular construction illustrated is such that when the props 50 are not needed to support the section 30 as a shelf they can be swung or folded down to extend horizontally and in this connection suitable holders 53 are provided on the body so that the props may be held horizontally in amanner to be effective as towel racks, or the like.

The present invention provides illuminating means E on or in connection with the guard B. In the case illustrated the illuminating means E is carried by the head portion 21 of the. guard and it. involves, generally, one,

or more lamps 60 carried by a socket element 61 and a shield or hood 62 which is suitably engaged partially around the lamp or lamps. In the case illustrated there is a single socket element 61 mounted on or carried by the panel 25 of head 21 and two like elongate lamps 60 are carried by the socket element to project horizontally in opposite directions therefrom. The socket element is such as to support the lamps 60 on an axis spaced forward of the guard and preferably located over or in vertical alignment with the rear section 31 of the cover when this section is in the up position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In the particular case illustrated the socket element 61 is so located as to support the lamps 60 close above the upper edge of the vertically extending rear section of the cover so that the lamps are close to the rear edge of the front section of the cover when that section is horizontally disposed. In the particular case illustrated the arrangement is such that the lamps are immediately to the rear of and slightly above the rear edge of section 30 when section 30 is up, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It is to be understood that the illuminating means may be energized from a suitable lighting circuit carried by a line 65 and may be under control of a suitably located control switch 66.

The hood 62 of the illuminating means is shown as a shield or visor-like element carried by the head 21 of the guard to extend over the upper portions of the lamps 60. The particular hood 62 illustrated in the drawings is of simple form and is secured to the face 25 of the head 21. The hood 62 is somewhat longer than the assembly of lamps and it is shown as having a rounded formation substantially concentric with the lamps. In the particular case illustrated the lower edge 63 of the hood terminates in a plane substantially coincidental with the axis of the lamps with the result that the hood prevents light from being directed upward from the lamps and checks any substantial amount of light from being directed horizontally forward therefrom. It is to be understood that the interior surface 64 of the hood may be polished or otherwise made reflective and in practice the panel 25 of the head 21 may be finished so that it is highly reflective. Ordinarily the head 21 of the guard, if not the entire guard, is formed of sheet metal and is finished with white enamel, with the result the front portion thereof is highly reflective.

The present invention provides a cover construction which is preferably plain, smooth and uninterrupted at the top when closed, as shown in Fig. 1, and which forms or has a light opening therein opposite or in the vicinity of the illuminating means when the cover is up as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In accordance with the broader principles of the invention the sections 30 and 31 of the cover cooperate to provide the desired light opening and the cover is so related to the illuminating means that the lamps of the illuminating means occur at or in register with the opening provided by the cover so that when the cover is up light is passed from the lamps to the top of the stove body A providing adequate illumination thereof.

In accordance with the invention one or both of the cover sections may be provided with an opening to pass light when the cover is up. In the particular case illustrated both cover sections have openings for passing light and these openings are in the nature of simple notches or recesses which cooperate or register and occur opposite the lamps of the illuminating means so they provide for ample passage of light. In the preferred form of the invention notches 70 are provided in the flanges 41 of the cover sections at the portions of the cover sections which are hinged together by the means 32. The notches 70 are preferably confined to the flanges just mentioned and are of such extent or depth that theyare concealed when the cover is down, as shown in Figs. 1 and of the drawings. The notches 70 are preferably of equal length and of such extent lengthwise of the cover sections as to provide a light opening coextensive with the illuminating means or with the lamp assembly of the illuminating means.

With the notches provided in the flanges 41 as above described a substantial light opening is formed, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and with the lamps of the illuminating means related to the cover as above described light from the lamps may shine through the light opening directly onto the top 13 of the stove to illuminate substantially the entire top of the stove. Further, light from the lamps may shine directly upon the front of the panel 25 of the head 21 and be reflected thereby through the light opening in the cover to likewise illuminate the top of the stove. Other light from the lamps may be reflected by the surface 64 of the hood 62 to be directed thereby onto the front of panel 25 of head 21 to finally pass through the light opening in the cover to illuminate the top of the stove. Other light from the lamps and reflected by the hood may illuminate the under side 80 of the rear section of the cover which is substantially vertical when the cover is up and this light effectively illuminates this part of the cover section 31 and part of it may be reflected in a manner to add to the illumination of the top of the stove.

From the foregoing description it will be understood how the cover C provided by the invention can be easily and conveniently operated between the several positions above described and when the cover is down the illuminating means is effective to adequately illuminate the top thereof. When the cover is folded the illuminating means being carried by the guard above the folded cover serves to adequately illuminate the top of the stove body. When the cover is in the up position where the front section serves as a shelf light from the illuminating means is passed by the light opening provided in the cover and effectively illuminates the top of the stove body A by direct as well as reflected light.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of my invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the following claim.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A stove including, a box-shaped body having a burner carrying top and a guard extending across and projecting up at the back of the body and above the top, a cover having elongate front and rear sections with flat panel portions having adjacent edge flanges pivotally connected together at adjoining longitudinal edges of the sections, means pivotally connecting the rear edge of the rear section to the body adjacent the bottom of the guard, the cover being operable between a down position where the sections are in a common plane and cover the top of the body and an up position where the rear section projects upwardly adjacent the front of the guard to the top thereof and the front section projects horizontally from the uppermost edge of the rear section, there being A working clearance between the sections establishing a narrow slot when the top is in the up position, and illuminating means carried by the guard immediately above the uppermost edgeof the rear cover section when that section is up, the cover having an elongate light passing opening extending longitudinally of the sections and substantially wider than the slot transversely of the sections and located where the sections adjoin and adapted to pass light from the illuminating means to the top of the body when the cover is up, the light opening being formed by registering notches in the said flanges, the illuminating means being substantially coextensive with the light opening and including an elongate lamp extending parallel with the guard above the upper edge of the rear section of the cover and with a portion below the plane of the 7 panel of the front section when the. cover is up, the References Cited in the file of this patent said means including a vertically disposed reflector im- UNITED STATES PATENTS;

mediately behind the, lamp and, adapted to direct light received from the lamp downward and forward through gg zg""'f t 1' i th I P he ight passing opening to lllumlnate the up of e 5 2,414,485 Reichart Jam 21 1947 body when the cover is up. 

